Trump pushed Australian prime minister Morrison to help gather information against Mueller inquiry
Donald Trump pressed the prime minister of Australia to dig up information he hoped would discredit Robert Mueller’s Russia probe, Australian officials have confirmed.
As Democrats pressed ahead with impeachment investigations against the president, issuing a subpoena to his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani for documents relating to Ukraine, it was reported the president had asked Scott Morrison to assist him in efforts to uncover how the investigation into Russia began.
The report said that as with Mr Trump’s 25 July conversation with the leader of Ukraine, in which he asked him to dig up dirt on Joe Biden, an action that led Democrats to trigger impeachment probes, details of the president’s conversation with Mr Morrison were also kept in a particularly secure server.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Australian government confirmed the call had taken place and said Mr Morrison had agreed to help, saying Australia had "always been ready to assist and cooperate with efforts that help shed further light on the matters under investigation".
The New York Times said officials had said Mr Trump asked Mr Morrison to help with an inquiry being pursued by attorney general William Barr into how US investigative agencies began their probe of possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia over the 2016 election.
In doing this, Mr Barr has sought the help of the FBI and the National Security Agency. Mr Trump and others have claimed the FBI began its probe into possible collusion in late 2016, after being passed accusations made by former British MI6 agent Christopher Steele.
It has long been reported, however, that the FBI began its investigation into possible collusion after being tipped off by Australian diplomats in London that one of Mr Trump’s campaign advisers, George Papadopoulos, had been offering “dirt” on Mr Trump’s rival, Hillary Clinton.
Earlier this year, special counsel Robert Mueller reported he found no evidence of collusion between the president and Russia, though he said he was unable to clear Mr Trump of allegations of obstruction of justice.
Mr Trump has repeatedly dismissed the probe as a “witch hunt”, a phrase he has now used to describe Democrats' impeachment investigations over claims he sought to pressure the leader of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, to find dirt on Mr Biden.
Justice department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec said Mr Trump made the calls on behalf of Mr Barr and US attorney John Durham, who are leading the probes.
“At attorney general Barr’s request, the president has contacted other countries to ask them to introduce the attorney general and Mr Durham to appropriate officials,” Ms Kupec said.
Mr Morrison, the leader of the conservative Liberal Party in Australia, has formed a strong relationship with Mr Trump and ranks among his closest international allies. Last week he received the rare honour of a state dinner at the White House.
The new claims come as a poll showed the number of Americans who believe Mr Trump should be impeached rose by 8 percentage points over the past week.
The September 26-30 Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Monday found that 45 per cent of adults believed Mr Trump “should be impeached,” compared with 37 per cent in a similar poll that ran last week. Another 41 per cent said that Mr Trump should not be impeached, while 15 per cent said there did not know.
Additional reporting by agencies
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